Legends Forgotten
by Cowgirl76
Summary: Amy Rose befriends a mysterious male porcupine. He is being hunted down by GUN's top agents, who believe him to be a threat to the national security. Amy believes in him, but is he really on the side of good, or one of the most dangerous threats Sonic's world has ever faced? Spoiler alert! This is my first fanfic. (note: Might start a bit slow, but it's going to be a very long)
1. Chapter 1

For the first time in what seemed like ages, peace had once again graced Sonic's world. Dr. Robotnik, otherwise known as Eggman, had not attempted an attack for a solid year since his last humiliating defeat. It was rumored that the once power hungry doctor had taken up a hobby other then creating destruction-archaeology. A few people claimed that they had seen him digging somewhere in the Mystic Ruins. This story was confirmed last fall, and had been a top news story for 4 straight weeks. Could it be that he had given up his dream of world domination for good?, reporters asked. But slowly people became complacent to this welcome change, going back to their normal lives. Eggman's activities slowly faded from the eyes of the public.

The last of the snow had finally melted, marking the beginning of spring. It had been the coldest winter on record, and now that the temperature had risen, people eagerly started enjoying the outdoors again. Tourists and amateur archaeologists began swarming all over the Mystic Ruins. A few tried to explore Angel Island, but a certain red echidna prevented them from doing so, concerned that anyone might get too close to his emerald.

In his workshop overlooking the ruins, Miles "Tails" Prower had brought the Tornado out of hibernation. He had been working on it for a month now to get it into peak condition. Setting down his tools, the young genius stepped back and viewed his work proudly. The Tornado was ready to take off! "It's the perfect day for a flight," Tails thought while revving up the aircraft.

From his shack, Tails could hear the clanking of picks and shovels and voices chattering excitedly. The noise didn't bother him, though, it was refreshing. It had been 3 months since he had even seen another person, even his best friend, who had left just before winter started. Tails had never been without Sonic so long. He missed him, but part of him was glad. Tails had noticed his friend's edginess after Eggman had stopped attacking, and knew it would take him some time to make the transition from hero to citizen again.

Tails opened the workshop doors and took a deep breath of fresh air. There was not a cloud in the sky that morning, and the fox lingered in the doorway for a moment, letting the sun warm his face. "I'll bet Sonic's enjoying this weather too."Tails thought. Suddenly, on an impulse, the fox grabbed his goggles from his workbench, leaped in the Tornado's cockpit, and took off into the pure blue sky.

Soon he was flying over the gently sloping green hills, eyeing the terrain like a hawk. Tails knew that this was his friend's favorite place to run. Sonic often came here when he was sad, needed some alone time, or just wanted to blow off some steam. He'd always thought it was strange that Sonic enjoyed this area of all places so much though, since his self proclaimed girlfriend lived very close to here, unless-

A flash of blue moved in the corner of his eye, interrupting his thoughts. "There he is," he whispered to himself with a smile, then put his plane into a low dive along side the speedy hedgehog.

Sonic saw the Tornado descending and slowed his pace to run alongside it. "Hey Tails," he grinned."Long time no see! So... What's up?" Tails shrugged."Just thought a friend of mine might like to get a chili dog with me, but if you're busy-"

"Are you kidding!" Sonic laughed, "I'm never too busy for a friend- who's gonna treat me to a chili dog! Come down lower so I can hop on!" "You got it," Tails chuckled.

Sonic, although he enjoyed running, got a thrill out of riding on the Tornado's wing."After all," he thought, " I'm still going a decently fast speed and its just about as awesome as extreme gear or surf- Whoa!" Tails stopped the plane suddenly to hover in midair, causing Sonic to tip forward, nearly losing his balance."Look Sonic, it's Eggman!" The hedgehog, still clutching his chest, looked in the direction Tails was gaping in. There was the doctor himself in his Eggmobile, circling around a giant drill-robot-thing, which was making an awful racket. Sonic was grateful for this, for it drowned out the noise of the Tornado hovering overhead.

"That's a Megadrill bot," Tails exclaimed wide eyed. "Those are really expensive! Sonic, what do you think he's up to? Do you think he's plotting another one of his evil schemes?" Sonic, not really thinking that the doctor's activities looked particularly threatening, pretended to think. "Let's see, its been about a year now since his last embarrassing beat down, so he is about due. But seriously Tails, everyone, even Eggman, is allowed to dig here. And he doesn't look like he's up to no good to me, unless he's trying to drill this place in half with that thing. So let's forget Eggy and go get that chili dog!" Tails considered this a few seconds, then smiled. "Roger!"


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry for the delay! Been super busy lately. Anyway, here is Chapter 2!

* * *

Amy Rose was fed up. She had declared her undying love to Sonic probably over a billion times, stalked and chased him to the ends of the earth so she could smother him with hugs and kisses, and threatened to flatten him with her hammer if he wouldn't take her on a date. But he still avoided her like the plague, and Amy just couldn't figure out what she was doing a few years of watching this go on, a handful of her friends had mustered up enough courage to go to her house to tell her she might be coming on a little too strong. A few of them were fast enough to escape, but most of them showed up at the hospital the next day. Everyone said Amy Rose was a sweet girl, before she fell in love with the blue hero.

But now, she realized, it was time for a change. Amy was crazy about Sonic, but she wasn't so blind that she couldn't see that he wasn't responding to her affection. After her 13th birthday she had done a lot of thinking, and decided that she would settle for anything to be nearer her crush, even if it just meant being friends.

She had gone to see Sonic, Tails, and even Knuckles to plead with them to let her be on Team Sonic, but it had not gone well. Sonic went stiff, then ran for the hills before a word even came out of her mouth, Tails sweated and shifted from one leg to another, seemingly trying to dodge her questions, and that stupid echinda rolled on the ground and laughed. That had been the last straw. Amy had been disappointed and left, but not before she gave Knuckles a piece of her mind...and her hammer. Team Sonic had rejected her, but she was determined to earn their respect somehow.

Amy kept mostly to herself that winter. One morning, she woke up with an idea. She would start Team Rose again! Big, Cream, and Amy had decided after the extreme gear races that they were going to stop, since the others were mostly peaceful and didn't care for fighting. That would show Sonic, no, everyone, that she wasn't just another ditzy fan girl. Maybe even show herself.

* * *

The afternoon sun was warm and bright that day on Bygone Island. The park was full of couples picnicking and fathers and their sons flying kites and throwing footballs. In town, people were hustling to and fro shopping and doing errands. Some people went down to the beach to bask in the sun or wade in the cool water. It was refreshing to see the island come to life again.

A new diner called Meh Burger had opened on Bygone Island a week ago. It was already the most popular restaurant in the area; not because of the food or the service, but because it was Sonic the Hedgehog's new favorite haunt. Sonic had just signed his last autograph of the afternoon (number new 106 to be exact), leaned back in his chair to relax, and closed his eyes.

"Ahh," Sonic sighed contentedly, patting his stomach, "I could eat chili dogs every day of the week and never get tired of them!"

Tails, having just signed his hundreth autograph himself, put down his pen and rolled his eyes smiling.

"And you do,"he chuckled."Thats your eighth today, isn't it?"

"I dont count em'," Sonic said. "But if the paparazzi hadn't mobbed us, it would have been many many more!" "It makes them happy to see their heroes. Besides, you know you love it," Tails smirked.

Sonic grinned. "Yeah, maybe. But I swear I've lost ten pounds from signing autographs and taking selfies with fans nonstop! Don't they know celebrities gotta eat too?"

Tails shrugged and looked down at his own plate, licking his lips. "At least our food didn't get cold this time," he said reaching for his double cheeseburger.

"That's because it just got served!"Sonic snorted, comically glaring at the new waiter, Dave, who had taken an hour to finally bring their orders."Well at least that's one good thing about the slow service here."

As he leaned up to take a bite of his cheeseburger, the fox glanced up briefly, then did a double take. A familiar face was walking down the other side of the street.

"Hey look, there's Amy! Wonder what she's up to?"

"Amy!" His companion, startled, nearly chocked on his food."Amy Rose?Tails hide me!"

"Sonic," Tails whispered, raising an eyebrow,"did you forget to meet Amy somewhere again? Like I even need to ask."

Sonic, still looking nervously in Amy's direction, grabbed a newspaper,and hid his face in it.

"If you must know,"he whispered, "yes. I sorta promised I'd take her out for her birthday. We were gonna meet at the theater and...I never showed up."

Tails face palmed."Sonic if you keep promising these things-"

"Tails, I've got a lot of things on my mind, like Eggman, chili dogs, crazy giant monsters, more chili dogs- "

"You haven't had to worry about any of those things for a long while, except maybe the chili dogs. But I guess I can cover for you this time",Tails sighed in resignation.

"Thanks buddy," Sonic smiled, peering from behind the sports section. "But make it quick, i think she's headed this way!"

Tails, eyes scanning the restaurant over, spotted an old broom leaning by the wall and a hat a customer had left by mistake. He tore off his seat and snatched the hat and broom. "Put this on!"

"Huh? You've got to be kidding! I'll look like an idiot!"

"Just do it!"Tails snapped.

Amy was headed for the park with a large picnic basket when she heard someone say her name. When she turned around, she saw Tails with someone burying his face in a newspaper. At first she wanted to keep going, still feeling slighted by the three boys, but she decided to say hello anyway. Tails was her friend, after all, or at least he had been. Soon the girl came skipping up to the boys table.

"Hey Tails!" She said brightly. "What's up?"

"Uh, hey Amy, I'm just having lunch with my uh, Uncle Chumley, hehe. Whatcha doin' out here,"Tails asked, trying to appear nonchalant as possible.

Amy didn't answer right away. Something about the hedgehog sitting next to the fox boy with the brown derby and wispy mustache looked familiar.

Could that be-no! I've mistaken too many people for Sonic. Silver, Shadow, and probably even my own reflection. Nope, not making any more foolish mistakes!

"Amy?"

"Huh?"Amy snapped out of her daze, remembering what she had come for.

"Oh! Um, I was wondering if you could help me find some recruits! For Team Rose, I've decided it's about time we got back into action again!"

Surprised,Tails looked across at Sonic, who looked like he was shocked, relieved, and about to sneeze all at the same time.

"What for?"Tails asked, turning back to face Amy. "There's really no point right now. Eggman hasn't been a threat for awhile."

"Just the same, I think we should be ready in case anything else happens. He's not our only enemy, you know", Amy said firmly.

Tails was impressed by this. Amy actually was thinking of something else other than Sonic, not that she never did, of course. Slowly he began to feel guilty. What was really wrong about having Amy on their team? She wasn't so bad all of the time, and she was a good fighter and teammate. More then that, she was actually one of his best friends, now that he thought about it.

"But Amy, I thought you wanted to be on our team,"Tails finally said. "And I always felt like you were, sorta."

Amy looked down, trying not to show the tears that were coming to her eyes.

"That's just it. Sorta. I'm tired of being a fifth wheel, Tails."

Tails noticed the pained look on his friends face.

"I could talk to Sonic again," he offered quickly, trying to avoid the glare he was getting from the blue hedgehog.

"No, Tails, it wouldn't work out," Amy said sadly.

She took in a deep breath, trying to compose herself. "So,will you help me?

"Sure Amy I guess," Tails shrugged, looking uncomfortable.

"Thanks, Tails." As she began to walk away, she blurted out, "If you ever want to be on my team, just ask. I'd be glad to have you!"

It was Tails turn to look down. "Uhuh," he mumbled. "I'll think about it."

When he lifted his head, the pink hedgehog was already out of sight.


	3. Chapter 3

No, I didn't die. Here's the next chapter!

* * *

"Well...that was awkward."

Tails glanced across the table at Sonic, who looked sorta... angry. The hedgehog ripped off his disguise, mumbled something under his breath, and started eating his chili dog in silence; avoiding the fox boy's eyes. Tails stared at his friend a few seconds, then hesitantly went back to eating his own food. Neither of the boys spoke until the waiter came for the check. Sonic reached silently for his share of the bill.

"I've got it," Tails offered, and handed the money to Dave.

Tails turned to Sonic, who now appeared to be giving the wall a death stare.

"You ready to go?" the fox asked.

The hedgehog showed no sign of leaving his seat. Tails sighed and crossed his arms.

"Cmon, stop giving me the silent treatment and get it off your chest! I haven't talked to you in months, and I think that's long enough, don't you?"

Sonic looked over at Tails, then got up from his chair and planted his hands roughly on the table in front of the fox.

"Tails," he snapped, "why did you say you'd think about it? You actually told her you might join her team! And you said I was leading her on! Hah!"

Sonic sat back in his chair in a huff, his muzzle starting to turn red.

"Sorry about that, Sonic," Tails apologized." I didn't know what else to say!" He frowned and leaned on the table."She's very persistent."

Sonic groaned loudly. "Don't I know it! I've been dealing with her for 6 years now, remember?! And now it's not enough that she's after me; she's after my sidekick too! She's sure got a lot of nerve!"

"Sonic," Tails asked quietly,"you don't really think I would ever leave you like that, do you?"

Sonic opened his mouth quickly to reply, then closed it and looked at the floor ashamed. He slowly sank deeper into his chair.

"H-hey buddy, I guess I kinda over reacted. I just don't want to lose you yet. You're a great sidekick, and besides that you're, well-"

Sonic's voice trailed off, and his eyes once again moved downward.

"Don't worry, bro!" Tails said cheerfully. "I'll think of some excuse to give Amy. And you know what?"

Tails moved from his seat and stood next to his friend.

"I promise, you'll never lose me. I'll always be your little brother." Tails punched Sonic lightly in the arm and smiled.

Sonic looked up from the ground at Tails, then grinned and punched Tails' arm back playfully. As the friends finally stood to leave, the hedgehog paused and gazed across the street where Amy had gone.

"I don't get Amy," he said, appearing to be deep in thought. "I thought she liked being with us, being part of the- well she was always sorta part of the team, wasn't she? Even if we didn't say it out loud."

"Well you heard her. Sorta isn't good enough anymore." Tails replied. "Besides, I thought you didn't want her on the team."

"Well, she's not so bad all the time, it's just that- well, let's face it! She just wants to be near me that's all! She's not interested in the team! She wants to marry me Tails! I used to think she'd grow out of it, but I'm not sure she ever will anymore! It's hopeless!"

Tails looked across the street where Sonic was still looking.

"I don't know, she seems to have grown up a little since last winter." The fox thought to himself for a moment, then grinned.

"I think maybe she's given up chasing you Sonic!"

Sonic snorted at this. "Ha! No chance! That girl's got something up her sleeve!"

* * *

People were leaving the Mystic Ruins in droves.

The noise made by Dr. Eggman's gigantic drill was deafening, but as if that wasn't bad enough, he was also making deep holes all over the island with it. Deep enough that a fall into one could be fatal.

The citizens complained about this to GUN, but they did nothing to stop it, not wanting to rile the doctor now that he had taken up a less destructive hobby (if you can call attempting to rule the world a hobby).

Besides that, the security organization had more important things on it's mind. Strange alien signals had been picked up in the atmosphere last winter. Not wanting to unnecessarily worry the citizens, GUN was sending its two best undercover agents, Rouge the Bat and Shadow the Hedgehog, on a secret mission to track down the source.

In the meantime, Team Rose had reassembled, and set out on their first mission- heading to the Mystic Ruins ruins to spy on Eggman.

The three friends hid behind some large rocks on the outskirts of the doctor's newest drill site, allowing them to hear a conversation going on in the enemy camp between Eggman and his robots.

"Sir," the red robot, Orbot, stated, "we will have to stop digging for today. This drill needs to be recharged."

"How long will that take?" Eggman growled.

"It will take approximately 3 to 4 days to fully recharge."

Team Rose was just close enough to see Eggman's face turn the color of Orbot's head.

"It shouldn't be taking this long to find the right spot! We were supposed to be finished by the end of winter, before the tourists showed up! Curses!" he cursed, clenching his fists.

"Have some patience sir," Orbot said, trying unsuccessfully to calm his boss down. "We have plenty of time to find your treasure."

"Yeah, besides, everyone's leaving now cause they can't stand all the noise the drills making!" Cubot said loudly(as usual). "You got plenty of time!"

"Wrong, simpleton!" Eggman snapped, cruelly banging Cubot on the head with a tool that happened to be handy. "Sooner or later someone is going to get suspicious and come snooping around here! Maybe Sonic the Hedgehog himself! If that happens I'm through! I've got to find it before then!"

After some more bickering went on for a few minutes, Eggman and his minions took the drill and left. The three friends looked at each other in excitement.

"Did you hear that? I knew he was up to something!" Amy exclaimed.

"Yes, you were right." Cream agreed. "I apologize for not believing you at first.

"Should we go get Sonic?" Big asked.

Amy cringed when she heard her former hero's name. The same name that used to make her heart race. Well, it still made it skip a beat, but Amy tried to dismiss that.

"We don't need him anymore." she thought to herself. "Besides, he'd take all the credit. We need to do this ourselves".

Amy knew that she couldn't say this out loud, at least not yet. Both Cream and Big idolized Sonic, and they wouldn't understand why she felt this way.

"Let's just take a look around first, okay?" she asked.

Cream and Big looked at each other and shrugged.

"Okay, then."

Amy, Cream(Cheese) and Big began making their way over to the large hole the drill had just dug out, being careful not to fall in any other holes. On the way, Amy noticed a crumpled brown piece of paper lying on the ground nearby and stopped to pick it up. She pored over it a few moments, then her eyes widened in excitement.

"Cream, Big, look at this! Eggman must have dropped it! Its a map!" She called to her friends, who had continued ahead.

"What does it say? the young rabbit asked, skipping back to the hedgehog.

Just as Amy was about to answer, the two girls heard Big yell frantically.

"Froggy! Come back! Help Help!"

"Again?!" the girls said simultaneously.

Amy and Cream ran to the side of the hole where the cat was peering down it in a panic.

"Froggy went into the hole Amy, I can't see him! How's he gonna get out?"

Amy looked down where the frog had gone, trying to see how deep it was. It was too dark to see the bottom. Amy gulped, fearing how deep it might actually be.

"We need Mr. Sonic," Cream cried. "I'll go get him!"

"No!" Amy yelled a bit too loudly, making Cream and Big jump.

Amy saw this and blushed in embarrassment, lowering her voice.

"We depend too much on Sonic. We can handle this ourselves anyway. I'll go down to get him myself."

"It's so dark down there Amy. Aren't you scared?" Cream whispered, clasping her hands together.

"No, of course not!" Amy lied. "It's just a hole." She put her hands on her hips and looked around.

"There's some rope over there we can use to lower me down. Come on!"

* * *

With every inch she descended, Amy regretted going down into the hole more and more. It was very narrow and cramped; the musky air was starting to make it difficult to breathe.

"Maybe we should have gotten Sonic." she thought. The hedgehog's foot grazed against the wall, causing little pieces of dirt to tumble down from the sides of the hole.

"What if the sides collapse and I'm trapped down here", she shivered. "I can't do this!"

"Amy, are you okay?" a high pitched voice called from far above. Amy gulped in some air and yelled up.

"No Cream, you'd better pull me up now-"

The rope suddenly snapped and Amy screamed as she began hurtling down faster and faster. Big and Cream heard her scream and a few seconds later heard a faint thud. The two of them stood frozen in shock for a few seconds, then looked at each other with fear etched over their faces.

"Amy?" Big called worriedly, breaking the silence.

Cream bit her lip to stop it from quivering.

"Big, stay here, I've got to find Mr. Sonic!"


	4. Chapter 4

Surprise! New chapter, extra early! My OC is in this chapter too. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

On the beach overlooking Emerald Coast, Sonic and Tails sat contentedly under a palm tree watching the sun set and the waves crash on the shoreline. The sky was an explosion of colors-blue, purple and pink surrounding a bright orange sun- it was the kind of scene that can never be fully captured on a camera.

Sonic leaned his back against the palm tree and closed his eyes.

"Sure is nice, huh Tails? Couldn't enjoy things like this when we were fighting Eggman every other day."

Tails nodded his head in agreement, then began absent-mindedly scribbling in the sand with a stick that had washed ashore.

"Bet all our friends are enjoying this too. Come to think of it, we haven't seen some of them in a long while."

Sonic saw Tails head drop down slightly.

"Hey bro, something wrong?"

"Well," Tails started hesitantly, "I-I know she was a pain sometimes, and kinda got in our way once in a while, but I miss her Sonic!"

Sonic stared out across the ocean for a few moments before replying.

"I'm assuming you mean Amy. Well, sorry to say, I'm not super upset about it", he stated rather coldly.

Tails whirled his head around. "Sonic, she's your friend, one of your best friends! She's always been there for you, and she's always had your back!"

"Yeah, literally!" Sonic said sarcastically, rubbing his back. "I can still feel the last time she jumped on me... Ow!"

"Sonic, don't you remember all the times she's helped us! Especially you! She rescued you when GUN put you in jail and she kept Silver from killing you when he thought you were the Iblis Trigger! And when the world was being destroyed, she was the one who convinced Shadow help you to stop the Biolizard! So c'mon, Sonic, admit it!"

Tails took a deep breath in and waited for Sonic's reaction. Sonic began to say something, then appeared to change his mind.

"Admit what! he retorted, crossing his arms. "She-uh- gets lucky. Wrong place at the right time, that's all!"

Tails had to chuckle at this, in spite of himself.

"You know Sonic, you're one of the most stubborn guys I know, well besides Knuckles."

Sonic was about to attempt a comeback, but stopped when he heard an voice call his name frantically.

"Mr. Sonic! Help!"

Sonic scrambled to his feet, just as Cream ran over and grabbed him around his middle, tears flowing down her face.

"Oh, Mr. Sonic, it's terrible! Amy-she fell in a hole-and she's hurt, I just know she's hurt! Big and I heard her hit the bottom! Mr. Sonic, what if she's-"

The young rabbit sobbed, unable to finish.

Sonic, though nearly at the edge of panicking himself, wrapped his arms around Cream and patted her back.

"Okay, calm down, kiddo, everything's gonna be fine," he said reassuringly. "Where is she?"

Cream tried to calm herself down, but all she could manage to get out was "Mystic Ruins, Eggmans drill". That was all Sonic needed to know.

"Tails," he said hastily, "go get a doctor and take Cream with you! I'll run over there and see if I can help."

Before the fox could say "Okay Sonic", the hedgehog left in a blue streak. Tails looked at Cream who was still sniffling.

"Don't worry Cream," he said kindly, "Sonic's got this."

Cream looked at Tails bravely, nodded her head, then took Tail's hand as they ran for the Tornado.

* * *

Amy Rose lay motionless in the darkness. Fortunately for her, the rope had snapped near the bottom of the hole, so her fall was not too serious. But it was far enough that she had fallen unconscious from the impact. The hedgehog groaned as she revived.

"Ugh, my head."

She tried to sit up as she rubbed her forehead, and felt a sharp pain.

"Oh, my body!" she moaned, then laid back down.

The hedgehog decided it would be best to try not to move for a while, and laid silently on the ground for several minutes.

"I wonder if anyone will miss me- oh, Cream and Big!"

She gasped, remembering suddenly that she hadn't come alone. "They probably think I'm dead!"

She tried to cry out, but her voice was too hoarse to get out much more then a squeak.

"It's no use." she whispered, hanging her head in defeat.

After sitting for a few minutes, her eyes began to adjust to the darkness, and she noticed that the hole was wider then she had thought. In fact it looked like a cave.

"An underground cave!" Amy whispered in awe.

"I wonder if this is what Eggman was looking for!"

Curiosity quickly overcame the hedgehog, and Amy, forgetting her injuries, rose to her feet and began to explore the dark cavern.

As she ventured further into the cave, Amy realized that it was much larger then she had imagined. There were many twists and turns in the cavern. And strangely enough, even though there were no lights visible, she could plainly see writing and images on the walls. In fact, the deeper she went, the more the cave became lit up with an eerie glow, but Amy was too much in awe to notice.

"Wow," she thought, "this isn't just a cave! I'll bet was once some sort of ancient temple!"

Amy's thoughts were confimed upon turning a corner. Amy gasped in awe upon seeing what looked like a large swimming pool.

"This must be the sacred lake the priests used for their ceremonies!"she murmured."This is a temple!"

(Amy had, when she wasn't occupied chasing Sonic, developed an interest in archeology, so she had learned a lot about ancient architecture.)

Amy giggled to herself. "Just wait till Sonic,Tails, and Knuckles hear about this! That'll show them!"

The girl, while scanning the room, spotted another room ahead and eagerly entered it. Suddenly, as she turned her head, she saw a figure about five feet in front of her. Stifling a scream, she jumped backwards.

"Hello?" she squeaked. There was no answer.

Although the girl was frightened, she stepped forward to get a closer look. Whatever it was was encased in glass. When she was about a foot in front of the figure, Amy heard a loud ZAP and an unearthly scream. A bright flash of light temporarily blinded her, knocking her to the floor. Terrified, Amy whipped her head in all directions, squinting her eyes to make them focus. As her vision finally began to clear, she saw a creature lying on the floor, panting heavily. Every bit of her wanted to run, but she was frozen to the spot. After a few minutes, her heartbeat slowed and she could breathe easier.

The creature hadn't moved since it had dropped to the ground. As Amy watched it, she noticed that its breathing was also slowing, but was becoming more labored. She wondered to herself, "Could it be hurt?"

"H-hey," she stammered,"are you okay?"

The creature, which appeared to be a male porcupine upon closer inspection, moaned.

"I think so..."

A split second after, his head snapped up at Amy, as if he had just realized she was there. Giving her a dark stare, the porcupine grabbed an arrow from a quiver on his back and pointed it at the girl.

"Stay back, intruder! I warn you!" he yelled hoarsely.

His voice made Amy gasp, and she stepped sheepishly backwards. The porcupine snarled showing his fangs.

"Get out of here now, before I beat you into a-"

"Don't yell at me, you big bully! I'm not defenseless you know!" Amy snapped angrily back at the male.(She was scared, but she also has a very short temper.)

"Ask me for trouble and you'll get it, buster!"

Amy pulled out her hammer and held it threateningly over her right shoulder. The male looked surprised by her sudden outburst, and shrunk closer to the ground, clutching his weapon more tightly. Noticing this, Amy felt pity for him.

"He's probably scared" she thought to herself. She lowered her voice and spoke more gently.

"You're hurt aren't you? I want to help you. But I can't with that thing pointing at me" she said, pointing to his arrow. "Will you let me help you, please?" she said, setting down her hammer and holding out her hand.

A strange look came porcupine's face as she said this, and for a few seconds he only stared at Amy. But finally, the porcupine lowered his weapon.

"You may come forward" he said, sighing slightly.

Amy face broke into a smile of relief."That's better! My name's Amy Rose, what's yours?"

The porcupines face paled slightly.

"Spike, he said weakly,"Spike the porcu-"

Spike slumped over slightly and moaned again.

"Oh, dear!" Amy cried, rushing over to him. "You're shivering something awful! But your forehead is burning up! You must have a fever!"

Looking up, Amy spotted a cloth hanging on part of the wall. She hurried over and tugged it off, revealing a large wooden door. Amy stared in amazement, and distracted by this new discovery, began tugging at the door.

"It's locked"she said, and stepped away from the door. "I wonder what's inside?"

She walked back to the shivering porcupine, covering him with the cloth. "Now I really need to get out of here; not just for me, but for you too." she thought out loud.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sonic the Hedgehog had just got off the train to Mystic Ruins, and after pushing past the crowd of passengers trying to leave, began circling the island looking for Big. After a few minutes, Sonic found the cat and skidded to a halt beside him.

"She down there?" he asked hurriedly, peering into the hole.

"Yeah, Sonic" the cat answered worriedly. Sonic squinted his eyes, peering into the hole, then looked back up at Big.

"Don't worry, Big fella, she'll be fine okay?"

Big nodded sadly, then Sonic slid down a rope into the hole.

Amy had called back up the hole several times, trying to reach someone.

"What a time for my phone to break" she thought, looking at the device that had been smashed in the fall. She finally gave up, her throat sore from yelling, and sat next to the feverish porcupine, whose condition seemed to be worsening. It was getting dark, she knew, and the ground was beginning to lose its heat. She was going to have to prepare for a very cold night. Amy curled up beside Spike and pulled some of the cloth over herself. Just as her eyelids began to get heavy, Amy faintly heard a voice.

"Amy?"

Amy's heart nearly leaped out of her chest. She lifted her head, and whispered, "Sonic", just as her rescuer entered the room.

"Ames" he breathed, panting slightly, and dashed over to the pink hedgehog. As he helped her to her feet, he saw the porcupine lying on the floor of the cave.

"Who-" he began. Amy shook her head.

"Later, let's get out of here."


	5. Chapter 5

Amy had been very lucky. The hospital staff had looked her over and had found no serious damage, other than a few cuts and bruises and a sprained elbow. The girl's arm was put in a sling to let it heal, and she was told to rest in bed for a week. Amy was not happy with the idea of being confined to her home, but, at least, she was not without company. Cream visited the pink hedgehog every day, and her mother Vanilla offered to make her meals until she regained her strength.

After a few days, Sonic and Tails visited her. Although she was glad to see them, Amy suspected that Tails had forced the hedgehog to come. After briefly saying hello, Sonic had plopped himself down in a corner. Amy noticed him stealing glances out the window several times. It was a beautiful day outside, and Amy was sure that his feet were aching for a run.

"We talked to the doctor yesterday, Amy. He said you saved Spike's life!" Tails grinned, pulling up a chair by her bedside. "If you hadn't found him when you did, he'd probably be dead right now."

"You were so brave Amy!" Cream gushed, and affectionately squeezed her friend in a hug.

Amy smiled at the young rabbit and returned the hug.

"Thanks Cream, but if Froggy hadn't jumped in that hole- oh!" she gasped, hands flying to her mouth "you did find him, didn't you Sonic?"

The hedgehog, who was once again staring out the window and twiddling his thumbs impatiently, turned his head.

"Huh? Oh, yep." Sonic answered, walking across the room to stand by Tails' s chair. "He was fine. But forget him, you found the porcupine, that dumb frog didn't. That was pretty gutsy."

Amy's eyebrows raised at this, happily surprised by the compliment.

"Aww, thanks Sonic, that's sweet of you to say," she purred, causing Sonic to gulp nervously and turn his muzzle bright red.

"Yeah. B-but of course, it was an accident that you found him. What did you do, anyway, trip and fall in the hole? Guess clumsiness can come in handy sometimes, eh guys?!"

Sonic held back his head and laughed loudly, nudging Tails in the arm.

"No she didn't, Mr. Sonic, she volunteered to go," Cream defended her friend.

Amy rolled her eyes and snorted.

"Well, clumsy or not, there's something going on out there, Sonic. Look at the map on that table."

Sonic raised his eyebrows and walked over to the table.

"It's a treasure map." he stated with a blank stare. "So?"

Amy sighed, then told Sonic what she, Cream, and Big had heard at the Mystic Ruins. Sonic looked from Amy to Tails, then back to Amy.

"Okay," he began slowly," just because Egghead has a secret treasure somewhere doesn't mean he's breaking the law. Lots of people hunt for treasure, and most of them probably don't want people to know about it. Amy, heroes don't go out looking for trouble. And another thing; don't do this just cause you're trying to impress me or something cause it won't work. Just stick to shopping and makeup and gossip like a normal girl-"

"Normal girl!" Amy gasped, then gave Sonic a fiery glare, throwing off the covers on her bed and planting herself directly in Sonic's face."You're saying I'm abnormal?! I'm not good enough for you!? Well, if my Piko Piko hammer wasn't in the other room, Sonic the Hedgehog, I swear I'd-"

"Just jokin' Ames, Don't get all uptight!" Sonic gulped nervously, backing up quickly, almost tripping over himself. "Well, I-I gotta run! Later!"

Turning 180° sharply, Sonic sped out of the room, and an awkward silence passed between Amy, Tails, and Cream. The fox was the first to speak.

"Um, I'd better go. Hope you feel better soon, Amy."

Tails attemped to smile, but it just came out as more of a grimace. Amy didn't answer, and only folded her arms and bit her bottom lip hard. Cream looked at Tails, slightly blushing in embarrassment.

"I'll walk with you to the door if you like, Mr. Tails," she offered.

"No need, thanks anyway." Tails started to walk away. "See you later," he waved.

After Tails left, Cream turned to her friend.

"I think I'll make a pot of tea. Would you like some Amy?"

Amy stared at the wall.

"Okay," she mumbled.

As soon as Cream closed the door, Amy groaned, and plopped back into bed, burying her face in her pillow.

"That Sonic!" she thought angrily. "What did I ever see in him anyway! He'll never appreciate me, never! He'll always see me as a clumsy, helpless child! I'm through with him! He can move to a different planet for all I care!"

Amy took her pillow and threw hard it at the wall, then laid back on her bed and cried. A few minutes later, she wiped her eyes and breathed in deeply, trying to calm herself.

"There's no sense in letting him upset me so much. He isn't worth it," she sniffled.

A few minutes of eye-drying and nose blowing later, Cream came in with a tray of hot tea and sandwiches. The rabbit noticed Amy's reddened eyes, but said nothing. She knew her friend well enough to know that she wouldn't want to talk about it just yet. The two girls attempted to make small talk for a while, then the rabbit stood to leave.

"Goodbye, Amy. Are you sure you'll be all right here alone?"

Amy nodded, then a thought came to her.

"How is Spike? I don't even know how he's doing, except that he's alive! And where is he staying?"

"He's at our house," Cream replied. "He was unconscious for a few days, but he finally woke up yesterday. He's doing quite well now."

"I'd like to see him," Amy said eagerly. "Wait! I'll come home with you, just let me get out of my pajamas

and-"

"Amy," Cream said like a concerned mother, "the doctor said you should stay in bed for a couple more days. I don't think it's a good idea".

Amy shook her head.

"I've been cooped up here too long already. And I feel fine. Really I do."

"All right," Cream relented,"but if you start feeling weak will you stay at our house tonight?"

"Sure, whatever you say, Cream," the hedgehog agreed eagerly.

* * *

The porcupine tossed and turned in bed, sweat rolling down his forehead and back.

"No! No! He moaned you can't do this to her! Please!" he yelled out.

"Spike? Spike, are you all right?"

The porcupine's body flinched upon hearing a familiar voice, and he began to wake. Through his blurred vision, he saw a pink object had entered the room.

"Amy," he called out weakly, trying to sit up.

The girl, shocked at hearing her name, felt a knot form in her throat.

"Don't try to get up, I'm right here," she reassured him gently, seating herself beside him.

The male rubbed his eyes, and as his vision cleared, saw the pink hedgehog smiling at him.

"You remembered me! I didn't think you would, since you were so feverish at the time."

"I couldn't forget you, you saved my life", he said, staring at Amy's face intently. "Thank you."

The knot in Amy's throat tightened, and a small blush spread over her face.

"There's no need to thank me and, besides, I can't take all the credit, she said quickly, then cleared her throat.

"So... if you don't mind me asking... what were you doing down there?"

The porcupine's face darkened slightly. "I was put into suspended animation."

Amy gasped loudly, and her eyes widened."You mean- y-you're from the past?

Spike nodded blankly.

"That's unbelievable! I've never met someone who was-well I guess that's a bit obvious..." she said sheepishly. "How far into the past?"

Spike stared at the ceiling in silence a moment.

"I'm not sure," he said wistfully. "But let's not talk about that right now." The porcupine looked questionly into Amy's eyes. "How did you find me?"

"Well, you were underneath a drilling site. I went down into one of the holes and-"

"Drilling site!"

Spike grabbed the sides of the bed tightly and turned pale, startling Amy.

"Amy, you must not let anyone drill there!"

Amy was speechless for a moment at Spike's sudden outburst.

"W-why not?", she stammered.

"Because if they don't they may find-"

Spike stopped mid-sentence, closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.

"Take this!" He reached under the blankets covering him and pulled out a chain with a small green gem attached to it.

"Go back to the cave. There's a door, and only this will open it. You'll find an object there, and if you can't stop the digging for any reason, I want you to destroy it. Please don't ask me why, I am not at liberty to explain."

Amy looked at Spike bewilderedly, but nodded. "Okay Spike", she said and stood to leave. "I'll try my best."

Spike shook his head.

"Don't try, do it! I can't stress enough how important this is!", he said urgently.

Amy nodded and left the room, clutching the chain tightly in her hand. The porcupine listened to hear the girl step out the door onto the front porch , then laid back and sighed, wiping his forehead.

"I'll set you free," he whispered into the air, "you'll be alive again, just as you were meant to be. I won't let them take you from me again.

* * *

To everyone who follows this story, thank you for your patience! Hope you enjoyed :)


	6. Chapter 6

"This is the life! No worries, no responsibility. Just relaxation!" Knuckes sighed, sipping on a half empty glass of lemonade.

The echidna stretched out on his beach towel and closed his eyes, the warm ocean breeze blowing his dreadlocks gently. Sonic, lying in a hammock tied between two palm trees, shook his head in wonder at Tails and chuckled.

"You sure have changed since last fall, Knux! You used to be all about responsibility and duty! But you're right on. It's the perfect day for doing absolutely nothing!"

The red echidna laughed. "You said it bro! But you know, you've seemed to have changed a little too, now that I think about it."

"I think we all have," murmured the yellow fox thoughtfully. "I guess we aren't used to having so much free time with Eggman off the radar."

"Where's Eggman anyway? You guys seen him?" Knuckles asked casually, slurping through his straw.

"I hear he's taken up archeology," the blue hedgehog said, jumping out of the hammock and sitting next to him. "Can you believe it?"

The echidna spit his drink out and cracked up laughing.

"Him, a digger? I never thought that would be his go to hobby," he gaffawed. "Well he's of our hair anyway. Can't say I'm sorry to see the old man go."

"By the way," Tails looked at Knuckles and asked, "I know everyone, even you, needs a vacation once in awhile, but how long do you plan to leave the Master Emerald unguarded? Isn't that a little risky?"

Knuckles waved his hand, "Don't worry about it, kid. Eggman's busy with his new hobby, and-" he set down his drink and leaned forward in his chair, "I've got someone watching it for me."

"Who?" Tails and Sonic asked in unison.

"That wild badger girl," Knuckles stated.

"Sticks!" Sonics jaw dropped and he raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Isn't she a little uh-"

"Yeah," Knuckles finished, dunking the last of the lemonade down his throat and pouring another glass. "But she'll be okay. She thinks she's on some sorta secret mission to stop aliens from landing on earth."

Sonic and Tails looked at each other in amazement, and the three burst into laughter.

"Hi Mr. Sonic!"

Sonic turned to see Cream skipping toward him with her pet Chao, waving.

"Hi, Cream!" he grinned, waving back. "Is Amy any better? Oh, and Nailhead, how's he doing?" Sonic laughed at his own joke.

"Pretty lame nickname, Sonic," Knuckles said bluntly, then burped twice loudly, much to Sonic's annoyance.

"Who asked you Knuckles!" he groaned.

"My mother has a favor to ask of you," Cream said, covering her mouth to avoid giggling at Knuckles.

"Let's hear it," Sonic said, standing up from his chair.

"Mr. Nail- I mean- Mr. Spike needs a special type of medicine that can only be made from these ingredients," she said, handing him a list.

"The druggist doesn't carry any of these so Mother has to make it herself. Would you please collect them for us?" she asked, smiling sweetly.

Sonic patted her on the head.

"Anything for you kiddo! Leave it to me!"

"Thank you, you are too kind! Come on, Cheese!" Cream said, skipping away again.

The three boys watched her leave, then Knuckles smirked.

"So now you're a delivery boy huh? Always wondered what would happen when you had no Eggman to keep you busy!"

Sonic glared at Knuckles, then skimmed over the list.

"Oh great!" he moaned. "These ingredients are scattered all over the place. It'll take me forever to find them all!"

"I'll come with you," Tails offered, walking up next to Sonic.

"Count me in too, Sonic," Knuckles added, then snapped his fingers.

"Hey, I just thought of a new career for us! We could start a delivery service and call it Sonic's Speedy Delivery! Our slogan could be-"

Sonic groaned, pushing past the two and walking down the shore.

"I'm not taking either of you, you'll just slow me down! I wanna get this done within the next month!"

"Aw, c'mon Sonic, take us with you!" Tails cried after him. "I need a change from working on my inventions, I've been doing that all winter! Please?"

Sonic looked witheringly at Tails and Knuckles, then lifted his hands in defeat.

"Fine, if Knuckles behaves himself!"

"I give you my word," Knuckles bowed. "I won't!"

* * *

"This isn't the right drill site! Don't you imbeciles know where you're going!" a voice raged above the wind blown landscape of the ruins.

"Well you have to admit, you have quite a few of them, sir," Orbot reminded the doctor. "Without the map, our only option is to guess which one is the right one."

Eggman buried his face in his hands.

"We've been searching for 3 hours already, and I haven't even had my breakfast yet!"

"No wonder he's so hangry this morning," Cubot mumbled.

"Hello Dr Eggman!"

Eggman jumped in his seat and peered over the side of the Eggmobile to see Amy Rose almost directly below him with a picnic lunch laid out across the dusty ground.

"Amy! What are you doing here? Did your little boyfriend send you to spy on me?" the doctor snarled.

"No, I'm just having a picnic. Cream is joining me in a few minutes. Would you like to join us?" she asked offering up a piece of delicious looking lemon meringue pie.

Eggman licked his lips and reached for the pie, then snapped his hands back at the last second.

"No! I'm far too busy for tea parties with little girls," he jeered. "Besides, you've probably put something in it to make me sick, you little wench! You can't fool me!"

Amy tossed her head, appearing insulted.

"Hmph, well suit yourself!"

"I will!" Eggman stated, and started to fly off to continue his search.

"By the way," Amy called after him. "You didn't lose a map did you? I found one near your drill site just lying there on the ground".

Eggmobile screeched to a stop, nearly throwing him and his robots to the ground.

"A map?! Yes I did! Not anything important of course, I just was digging for artifacts there. There was nothing there of value, just a few trinkets I left. I've actually completely abandoned the site and started searching on the other side of the island. But, uh, where is it?"

"Oh, I don't have it anymore; I gave it away. Fortunate for you it doesn't matter though since it wasn't important! I would have felt so embarrassed if I had given away something valuable!"

Amy smiled sweetly, then went back to unpacking her picnic lunch.

Eggman stared at Amy working busily; teeth clenched and mustache twitching nervously, getting more desperate by the second.

A few seconds later...

"Well don't just sit there like an idiot, who has it?" Eggman pleaded, pulling at his mustache.

Amy smirked to herself, enjoying Eggman's predicament.

"Okay, okay! Sonic has it."

"That little rat!" Eggman spat. "Where is he?"

"How should I know? Find him yourself, grouchy!"

Eggman growled then took off in a fury.

The pink hedgehogs ears perked attentively until the Eggmobile could no longer be heard, then took a deep breath in and collapsed across the picnic blanket.

"It actually worked," she whispered, a grin of relief spreading across her face.

* * *

Meanwhile, deep in the forest, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles were searching for a patch of wild berries for Mrs. Rabbit's brew. Or at least, Sonic was.

"Ok, Knuckles you win! I wish I'd never started this acorn fight," Tails gasped, holding his sides and choking on laughter between sentences.

The echinda smirked devilishly.

"What's the matter? It's NUT funny anymore!?" Knuckles doubled over in laughter at his own joke(if you can call it that).

Sonic rolled his eyes and pressed on through the dense shrubbery.

"This has got to be the worst day of my life," the hedgehog complained. "Not only am I still on an errand that should have been finished hours ago, I now have to break up wrestling matches between Tails and Knuckles every five minutes, listen to Knuckle's terrible jokes, and worst of all... walk! Slowly! This day couldn't turn out any worse."

"Uh oh! I think I just walked through some poison ivy!" Tails said.

"Spoke too soon," Sonic grimaced. "That's it! I'm outta here!"

The hedgehog broke away from his companions in a mad dash.

"So long, snails! Eat my dust!" he shouted gleefully over his shoulder.

"Wait Sonic! Don't leave us!" Knuckles called after him.

"Yeah!" Tails whined. "I'm having a serious medical emergency here!"

Sonic chuckled as his friends voices faded into the distance.

"Phew! Now I can finally get this thing done, and I still might have some time for a little relax-"

Seemingly out of nowhere, Sonic heard a high pitched screech, and an object whooshed inches in front of his face.

Sonic instinctivly dropped to the ground just before being showered with shrapnel and dirt.

The dazed hedgehog shook his head and winced in pain, feeling a small piece of metal stuck in his fur.

"What the-"

"Ho, Ho, Ho, Ho!"

Sonics eyebrows furrowed in realization as he heard a familiar laugh above him. He looked up to see his former arch nemesis red faced with laughter, sucking in air like a vacuum trying to catch his breath.

"Doctor Eggman, you'll started choking again," Orbot warned his master.

"Ho ho ho- hack!"

"See," Cubot scolded. "We told you!"

"That was low, Eggface," Sonic yelled angrily. "You almost fried me!"

Eggman recovered from his choking fit, took in a deep breath and glared at the hedgehog.

"You asked for it! Where do you come off stealing my map?"

"Map? What map?" Sonic asked.

"The map you stole from me, miserable pest!"

Sonic gave Eggman an annoyed glare, not remembering the map Amy had shown him earlier.

"I did not steal a map," he sighed. "C'mon, Eggman don't blame me for your forgetfulness. Man up and take some blame for once. You probably left it next to the toaster."

Eggman's face turned deep red with rage.

"All right," he bellowed, "if you want to play hard, we'll play hard!"

Eggman's finger inched slowly toward the Eggmobile's controls, readying to launch a weapon.

Sonic nonchalantly brushed the dust of himself, then crouched to the ground in a sprinting position.

"Bring it on!" he smirked.

* * *

Well I was even surprised I got a new chapter up here so soon! Special thanks to Pyromaniac Wolf for the review and a little added motivation! Hope you enjoy :)


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